“You’re right.” She takes a deep breath as she lays the biscuits a few inches apart from each other. I do my best to focus on the bacon and not her. I have a feeling I’m going to get popped again.
“So, what gives? It’s not a nickname I’ve heard before.”
“He’s called me Bug since I was little. He’s a fan of puns.” I can almost feel her roll her eyes as she says it. “He thought my name was close enough to June bug that he said it and it stuck. I told him if he wanted to call me that, he and my mom should have named me June and not Joan.”
“I take it he didn’t listen.”
“Nope,” she shakes her head, “honestly, I feel like I should be offended he nicknamed me after a creepy brown beetle that dive bombs into everything.”
“Maybe you should live up to that name.” The words are out before I can stop them.
“What do you mean?”
“Well, June bugs tend to dive into things without fear. Hell, half the time without knowing what they are going toward. Maybe you should veer toward that life philosophy. You know, dive bomb into going on a date with me.”
There, I took a shot, and I swear if she turns me down this time, I’ll back off. Her hands stop placing the biscuits and she doesn’t say anything. Fuck, I’ve just ruined everything.
8
Joan
Didhe really just use a bug as an analogy? He’s not entirely wrong. I use extreme caution in my life. If I hadn’t needed money for Isaac’s baseball stuff, I never would have gotten into bartending. It’s probably the most spontaneous thing I’ve done in my entire life.
“Just…forget I said anything.” The oven beeps and he moves the pan from in front of me and slides it into the oven. He removes the bacon from the skillet and sets it on a paper towel covered plate.
“No, it’s fine, really.” Going on a date with him wouldn’t be horrible. Not that I ever thought it would. It’s the age thing that keeps tripping me up. I can’t help but wonder what my kids would say if they knew I was thinking about dating someone so much younger than me. If I tell them. I always had a plan for when I decided to date again. They wouldn’t meet him until I thought it was something more than just fun.
And he did take care of me last night. He could have done so many things. Let me drive home, leave me at Lisa’s, or just not care. He didn’t, though. He brought me to his house and made sure I was safe. Hell, he’s cooking me breakfast right now before taking me back to my car.
“No, I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have said anything.” He shrugs his shoulders as he breaks eggs into a bowl. “I just thought maybe you’d see a date with me from a different perspective.”
Every time I’m determined to say no, or that he’s too young, he has to say things like this. Really makes it hard for me to keep coming up with excuses not to take him up on his offer. Besides, it's not like he’s asking me to be his girlfriend. It’s just one date. It could be fun. I’ve spent so long living for my kids, and last night was a blast. Well, except for the getting drunk off my ass part and having to be carried out. I remember that part. At least he did it outside, where nobody could see me.
“What would a date with you entail?” This information is important. I definitely don’t want to be hitting the clubs or anything like that. It’s not my jam, and I get enough of people at the bar when I’m working.
“That depends.” He pours the eggs he stirred together into the skillet he’s added butter to. “What do you like to do?”
The answer should come to me quickly, but it doesn’t. It’s not something I’ve thought about in years. “I, um, actually don’t know.”
“Have you ever ridden horses?”
“Have you?”
“No,” he laughs, “but Angie’s brother has a ranch and I’m sure they wouldn’t mind teaching us.”
“I’d have to think about that.”
“We could go to the park, museums, waterpark. The sky's the limit. There’s actually a little carnival the town puts on every year. We could do that.”
He convinced me last night would be fun, and it was. Maybe I’ll leave it up to him. “One date.” I hold up my finger and scoot back when he raises his hands above his head in victory. “Don’t get too excited. I never said it’s going to be more than that.”
“All I need is one,” he winks and goes back to stirring the eggs. “When do you want to do this date?”
He seems a bit more confident than he did a few minutes ago. His whole demeanor changed. I’m not sure if it’s because I agreed to go on a date with him, or because I didn’t act like an ass when he made the comment about the June bugs. Either way, I’m glad he’s in a good mood.
“I’m not sure. The kids come home tomorrow.” I wish I had my phone with me to see what days they have stuff going on. “And all-day Saturday is baseball. Then they are home with me until next weekend when they go to their dad’s after the games.”
“So that leaves tonight, or two weeks from now.”
